McKean Island

Latitude 3° 35′ 51.38″ S
Longitude 174° 07′ 37.52″ W

McKean Island is a makatea, a plateau of raised coral reef, now dead. There are ruins of the guano mining from the 19th century on the island. The lagoon is a silted-up, saline mix of sand, bird dung, and sea water. McKean was declared a bird sanctuary in June, 1938, while still part of the Gilbert & Ellice Islands Colony, and is now a wildlife sanctuary. A survey by the Smithsonian Institution estimated the bird population at roughly one million. For further information: McKean Island.

Birnie

Enderbury

McKean

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